001scheduled Board of Education meeting the Board of Education was an executive session in accordance with open meeting law 105 F specific personnel matters discussion section 913 tenure class and agenda review to minimize disruptions during the students and staff awards recognition segment Please remain in the meeting until after the PTSA reports. A very brief intermission will occur after the PTSA reports for those wishing to leave before the second half of the meeting. Please do not enter or exit the auditorium while a presentation is in progress to be respectful of the presenters. At this time, I would ask you all to please stand for a video of the Pledge of Allegiance, which is recited by the UPK students from Bicycle Path Pre-K Kindergarten Center, and for the Star Spangled Banner being recited by Anthony Lopez, an eighth
002grade student from Selden Middle School. Oh, say can you see by the dawn's early light, what so proudly We at the twilight's last gleaming Whose broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight O'er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming? bombs bursting the night that our flag was still there oh say does that star-spangled banner yet wave o'er the land of the free and the home of the brave thank you so much that was beautiful We are now going to have a public hearing, Real Property Tax Exemptions 471 and 466A. The purpose of the public hearing is to provide an opportunity for interested parties and citizens to be heard regarding a proposed resolution related to the exemption of school taxes for surviving spouses of police officers killed in the line of duty, including
003cooperative apartments as provided by the Real Property Tax Law. 471 and also surviving spouses of a member of an incorporated volunteer fire company, fire department, or incorporated voluntary ambulance service killed in the line of duty as provided for by the real property tax law 466A. The resolution authorizes the following adjustments to the definition of income for the purpose of exemption. 50% of the assessed value of real property owned by the spouse of a member of an incorporated volunteer fire company, fire department, or incorporated voluntary. ambulance service killed in the line of duty who met the requirements of section 466a of the New York State real property tax law including property owned by a cooperative apartment corporation in which a tenant stockholder of such corporation resides 50 of the assessed valuation of real property owned by
004the spouses of police officers killed in the line of duty who meet the requirements of section 471 of the New York State real property tax law including property owned by a cooperative apartment corporation in which a tenant stockholder of such corporation resides upon the conclusion of this public hearing the Board of Education intends to vote on these proposed resolutions during their regular Board of Education meeting are there any Audience members that would like to speak or make a comment? Seeing that there are none, thank you. The meeting is now reconvened. Secondary students of the month, if I could please have Mr. Bell to the podium. Good evening. It's with great pleasure that I introduce Brianna Brennan as the Center H High School Student of the Month. Brianna is simply incredible. That made writing a speech
005about her very difficult because she can be summed up with simply that word, incredible. She's an incredible student, athlete, citizen, friend, and daughter by all accounts. She's an outstanding student who by years then will have completed 13 AP classes and another two college-level courses. Her weighted GPA is 102, ranking her fifth in this year's senior class. She takes an array of difficult classes and excels in all of them. Her intelligence and intellectual curiosity are only outdone by her intense work ethic. Brianna is fully immersed in what St. Richard High School offers. She's a member of the National Honor Society and our World Language Honor Society. As far as clubs are concerned, Brianna is a member of our Leaders Club, our E-STEM Club, and our Best Buddies Club. She finds time to be an active member
006of these organizations while also being a three-sport athlete. In a time when most athletes choose to specialize in one sport, Brianna has excelled in field hockey, basketball, and softball throughout high school. She's able to excel in all of these sports due to her intelligence, competitive spirit, and dedication to her teammates. While softball is her first love, you would never know it from watching her play field hockey and basketball. She only knows one way to compete, giving her all. Her field hockey coach, Ms. Bright, states, Brianna is one of the most hardworking and determined student athletes that we have seen come through our field hockey program. Although she will be playing softball at Division I next year, she could also have very easily done the same for field hockey, and that's a rare sight. Brianna is
007the true definition of a student athlete and a leader. She was our captain on the field the past two years and named our MVP for the past two seasons. I have no doubt that she will go on to continue to be a leader down any path that she chooses. Her basketball coach, Mr. Greco, concurred, noting, for the basketball team, Breanna is willing to do whatever the team needs her to do to win. She's a starting forward, despite being one of the shortest girls on the team. She competes with the tallest and strongest girls on the opposing team and always walks away having made the plays we needed from her. She's an absolute pleasure to coach. Her teachers here at Center Reach recognize that Brianna is incredible as well. Mr. Brennan, her forensics teacher, describes Brianna
008as an outstanding student who truly deserves to be recognized as student of the month. She faces every challenge head on with incredible determination and a positive attitude. Instead of making excuses or complaining, Brianna focuses intently on her goals and consistently works until she achieves them. Her resilience, work ethic, and can-do spirit are an inspiration to everyone around her. Ms. Liguori, her AP Economics teacher, states, Brianna is truly an incredible student whose dedication to her studies is matched only by her kindness and positive attitude. She consistently approaches every task with diligence and a genuine curiosity, demonstrating a strong desire to learn and grow. Brianna's kindness shines even brighter than her academic achievements, which is stellar in its own right. And Ms. Stoll, her AP English teacher, marveled that, Brianna truly impressed me as such a mature,
009honest, kind, and hardworking student. She never let hardships or challenges become an excuse or keep her from achieving her goals. Determined, self-motivated, resilient, and fearless are other words that truly describe Brianna. Oh, and she's also kind of fun to be around, too. Everyone kind of concurs. Brianna will be attending Wagner College where she plans to study biology in order to become an anesthesiologist. Fortunately for us, she'll be nearby so we can watch her continue to grow as a Division I college softball player. Brianna, congratulations, and we have now officially recognized how incredible you are. Congratulations. If I could now please have Mr. Kachidis to the podium. Good evening. It is with great pleasure that I introduce eighth grade student John Hacker as Donwood Middle School's April Student of the Month. John's physical education teacher, Ms.
010G, shared, as captain of the cross-country team, John leads by example. He motivates his teammates, gives 100% effort, and maintains a positive attitude. He is always willing to help others and brings a level of kindness, respect, and maturity. that sets the standard for our school community. Ms. DeColibis, John's English teacher, said, John is a standout in every way. He consistently puts forth his best effort, seeks feedback to deepen his understanding, and works well with everyone. His kindness and friendly personality make him a joy to be around, and his respect for others truly defines his characters. Mr. Sevian, John's band teacher, said, J.J. is a powerhouse musician whose talent and dedication strengthens our entire band. He is quite the leader who remains humble while supporting those around him. His musical accomplishments far exceed what is typical
011for someone his age. John is an exceptional student who consistently demonstrates academic excellence. His average for the first three quarters of this school year was a 99.25. And this is going to sound amazing. I looked at his average for sixth and seventh grade. Also a 99.25. Very, very consistent. Outside of the classroom, John is equally impressive. He plays travel basketball with the Middle Country Mustangs and is actively involved in music through Skamia and Nizme, where he plays trombone. He also has taken up the challenge of learning piano last year. In his free time, John enjoys spending time with his family, whether playing sports with his father or helping his mother with chores. When asked who inspires John, he immediately named three people. He said, my coach, my baseball coach, Coach Walsh, who has supported my
012growth over years, and my parents, who encourage me to improve each and every day. Looking ahead, John hopes to become a math teacher, combining his academic strengths with his desire to help others. John, thank you for all the wonderful things you do, and congratulations for being the Dawnwood April Student of the Month. Congratulations. Congratulations. If I could now please have Ms. Patera to the podium. Good evening. It is my honor to recognize our student of the month, Carrie Lynn Turner. Carrie Lynn is a student who truly represents the very best at our school community. One of her teachers shared that the phrase, a pleasure to have in class, might as well have been written specifically for her. And that sentiment is echoed by every teacher who has had the opportunity to work with her. She
013approaches her work with focus, determination, and a genuine desire to learn, consistently coming to class prepared and taking pride in all that she does. Across all settings, Carrie Lynn stands out not only for her academic commitment, but for her character. She is kind, respectful, and supportive to those around her. Her teachers describe her as thoughtful, hardworking, and mature beyond her years. Someone who leads by example and creates a positive environment wherever she goes. In the classroom, Carrie Lynn's intellectual curiosity and enthusiasm for learning is undeniable. As her former teacher, Ms. Hess, shared, it was immediately clear that Carrie Lynn brought energy and engagement to every lesson, whether participating in discussions, volunteering to contribute, or diving deep into topics like literature and ancient civilizations. She is not only eager to learn, but also willing to think
014critically and speak up, demonstrating both confidence and a strong sense of fairness. Her current teachers continue to see these same qualities. In algebra, she's described as incredibly hardworking, motivated, and always striving to truly understand the material. She challenges herself, stays ahead, and takes initiative in her learning, all while maintaining a positive, respectful presence in the classroom. And this excellence extends beyond academics. In physical education, Mr. Toto describes Carrie Lynn as phenomenal, a true leader who gives 110% effort in everything that she does. She's always fully prepared, fully engaged, and consistently demonstrates sportsmanship, kindness, and treating everyone around her with respect. Simply put, she models exactly what we hope to see in all of our students. When speaking with Kerri-Lynn, it's clear that she was already thinking thoughtfully about her future. She aspires to attend Stony
015Brook University and major in history with hopes of becoming either a history teacher or a historian. What stands out even more is that as she plans ahead, she remains grounded in what matters most, sharing she always wants to be there for her parents and support them just as they have her. Carrie Lynn has a genuine love for reading and thanks to Miss Hess she has developed a strong interest in Percy Jackson and Greek mythology. Outside of the classroom she's an active member of both the lacrosse and field hockey teams, continuing to demonstrate her dedication and teamwork. In her free time she enjoys being with her family, her pets, cats, and dogs, rounding out a balanced, thoughtful life that she leads. Carrie Lynn, we are so proud of all you have accomplished and the example that
016you set for others each and every day. Congratulations on being named the student of the month. This recognition was truly well deserved and we look forward to watching all that you continue to achieve. Congratulations. And now for certificate of recognition, if I could please have Ms. Pacifico, Director of World Studies K through 12, to the podium. Good evening. Can I have Jose Gomez to the podium? Good evening. On behalf of Dr. Cook, I want to thank you for the opportunity to present this year's I Voted sticker contest winner, Jose Gomez, from Newfield High School, a sophomore. As a real-world demonstration of civics in action, our elementary students voted on several designs during this year's Humanities Expo. These students will receive a sticker with the winning design when they attend the upcoming budget vote with their
017families. I would also like to thank Miss Keesling from Center Ridge High School and Miss Koladeud from Newfield High School and their computer graphics and art design to students for their participation in this project. I also want to extend our deepest appreciation to the Middle Country Education Foundation. Their support ensures that we have enough stickers available for all of our students. for a large sundae at Mia's Ice Cream. And thank you for inspiring civic initiatives and our youngest voters. All right, so now I would like to ask our students who participated in National History Day and their advisors, Mr. Dobos and Ms. Cook, to come to the podium as well. All right, so now I'm going to recognize those students from Middle Country who participated in last month's Long Island History Day competition at Hofstra
018University. So you're going to notice that many of our honorees tonight as well as some of our past recipients are going to appear a little bit later in this evening as members of the Student Legislative Ad Hoc Committee. This is no coincidence. National History Day empowers students to become active, informed citizens by transforming historical research into powerful tools for civic engagement. As they participate, they hone essential skills such as inquiry, evidence-based argumentation, and persuasive communication. In preparing for tonight, I was looking for famous changemakers who may have participated in National History Day, but I was struck to find that the Food Network's Guy Fieri actually participated in his local competition as an eighth grader. And I wasn't expecting that a trip to Flavortown is going to have the same civic impact. What I thought was
019interesting is that he said that... During eighth grade, this was an influential time for me. It was such a huge launch pad, kind of like seeing the forest for the trees. After that, I finished school year with better grades than I had ever had and went on to high school. We hope that our students have the same experience with this project and it puts them on a trajectory to finding their own passion and voice. And what you'd find with those projects... is they pick very unique topics, things from environmental science to research into stem cells. So they're not just necessarily History Day projects in their traditional sense. And in addition, what began as an eighth grade research project in connection with the district's capstone initiative has organically expanded into our high schools. So now we
020have several high school students competing on the regional level, some for their third consecutive year. This opportunity would not be possible without the unwavering support of our eighth grade social studies teachers, our National History Day advisors, Ms. Cook and Mr. Dobos, and I also must recognize our students' families for their behind-the-scenes support. So I'm imagining lots of late-night snacks as students were doing their research, spending long days at Hofstra on that Sunday, even coming armed with toolkits to repair exhibit boards before their presentations. We appreciate everyone who made this celebration possible, especially our remarkable students. So without further delay, here are tonight's recipients. So we have Arisha Merced from Selden Middle School. Jenny Lynn Kate Espinoza from Donwood Middle School. Sylvia Zhao from Newfield High School. Safina Afroz, also from Newfield High School. And these
021are some of our repeat contenders. Hassin Najor from Newfield High School. From Center Reach High School, also repeating as competitors, we have Julia Mahoney and Grace Bender. We're not sure what we will do if Grace and Julia don't continue to compete together because we said they kind of come as a pair now. And then we also have Aishwarya Bhatti from Center Reach High School. And congratulations to all of them, again, for representing middle country in such impressive ways. Now for certificates of pride for our lobbying day in Albany. Could I please have Ms. Pacifico, if you could stay there, and Dr. Siegel? Okay, so now we're going to break the stereotype about English teachers and social studies teachers giving the longest presentations. So good evening, and thank you for allowing us to celebrate with you
022the success of Middle Country's second annual Albany lobbying trip. This experience and I'm much shorter than dr. Siegel this experience began with the district's legislative committee adding 45 Center each in Newfield high school students representing grades 9 to 12 to its already well-rounded members of parents teachers administrators Board of Education members and various local representatives The district's goal was to expand our students involvement and voice and provide them with authentic civic engagement and real-world experience in the democratic process so they can begin to contribute responsibly in a diverse and dynamic way. Assemblyman Joe DiSanto. This experience would not have been possible without the support of several individuals and organizations, in addition to the support of our administration and Board of Education. These community partners include state legislators Doug Smith and Rebecca Casse, who prepared students
023in advance of the trip and met with them afterwards to debrief and listen to their feedback regarding their advocacy efforts and experiences. Assemblyman Smith, who also arranged a capital tour and formal recognition on the assembly floor. All of the New York State legislators and staff who met with our students throughout the morning. The Middle Country Education Foundation, which provided funding for transportation. the middle country food service department and miss sharon dyke who arranged school breakfast and lunch and briefed students on key advocacy issues the middle country transportation and maintenance departments who ensured a smooth and safe 4 a.m departure and last but not least our teacher and administrative chaperones miss kohler miss scott miss resnikoff miss mcdonald miss iodanza and dr cook for not only arriving at 4 a.m for the trip but supporting and
024championing our students throughout the day Don't play great. OK, so now that we have shared our experiences, we want you to hear directly from the students who played the most crucial role in the day's success. I always knew how important it was to be involved, so when the district invited me to lobby in Albany, I was really excited. The first step was to prepare. In order to advocate effectively, you need to know what you're talking about. Therefore, we met a few times to learn from experts and discuss the various issues that affect our district. It was exciting that Assembly Members Doug Smith and Rebecca Katsay joined our Assistant Superintendent for Business to share their expertise with us. Finally, on February 3rd, 45 of us representing Center Ridge and Newfield High Schools went to Albany. for
025the district's second annual legislative advocacy day. During the morning session, we met with various state representatives, many of whom served on the Senate and Assembly education committees. We advocated for school district funding to help support valuable middle country programs such as universal pre-K, mental health services, special education, and free access to school meals. After meeting with the various New York State representatives, we enjoyed a tour of the Capitol. where we explored the site's history and gained a deeper understanding of the legislative process. Following the tour, we visited the New York State Assembly floor, where we were formally introduced and recognized at the opening of the assembly session. It was amazing! Thank you, Madam Speaker. On behalf of myself and Assemblywoman Rebecca Casse, we are so proud to welcome students from the Middle Country School District
026here to the Assembly Chamber from Center Reach High School, Newfield High School. Rebecca and I had the opportunity to spend some hours with them in the fall talking about issues that are important to them as students. And I'm just so excited. I can tell you and a number of my members, my colleagues from Long Island, who very frequently students will take school trips to New York City, but not too often take an opportunity to get up here. So on behalf of... you know, a number of members that represent the Middle Country School District that took time out of their day to meet with these students. And there are some students here for the first time, some returning. Madam Speaker, if you could welcome them to the people's house, we would greatly appreciate that. Thank you.
027On behalf of Mr. Smith, Ms. Casse, the speaker and all members, we welcome you young people to our assembly chamber and extend to you the privileges of the floor. It's truly an honor to be able to welcome you, and I hope that you enjoy our proceedings today. Take it in. We do all of this work, especially for you. And one day, many or one or all of you could be in positions like this in elective office. So thank you so very much for joining us today. We appreciate you being here. Because of this experience, I know that our representatives will listen to us if we speak up. I am proud to be involved and I am excited to see how our ongoing advocacy will positively impact the district and our community. Okay, so at this
028point, I guess we're gonna call up the students who participated. So students who came on the Albany trip, if you can come up. We're going to award you with certificates. One is from Assemblyman Doug Smith's office and the other from the Middle Country Central School District. Since we are a rather large group, we're just gonna ask that you hold your applause to the end. So I'm gonna start with our Center Reach students. Sophia Alban, Chris Operly. Grace Bender, Jordan Bonilla, Yoseni Chen, Lily Collins, Maya Cosmo, Kieran DeCarolis, Raffaella Giron, Sebastian Kijewski, Julia Mahoney, Ava Matlock, Kennedy Matlock, Liam McCarthy, Sofia Munoz-Gonzalez, Ariel Nival, Jamal Tastin, Jake Thelian, Alicia Vasquez, Ada Weiss, and Ashley Welch. Now for our new fail students. We have Safina Afroz, Aska Ahmed. Safina? Yeah, okay. Aska. Charlie Anderson, Isabella Calderon-Pardo, Sophie
029Chen, Megan Clark, Emma Krakow, McKenna DeMauro. Lourdes Dam, Janiyah Forth, Leann Huynh, Xing Liu, Emily Macchiani, Isabella Muccio, Madison Portelli, Gabriela Rios, Saraya Roy, Amber Sharma, Ryan Serkis, Jonathan Towns, and Jeanette Trinidad. So many of our students could not make it because they are super involved. So they apologize for not being able to accept their certificates. I just want to congratulate all of you again and thank all of you. I have to say I got emotional watching that video. This is amazing. It's been a dream to grow this and to grow. young human beings who advocate not only for themselves but for others, especially those that don't have a voice. So if you do one thing in life, well actually two things in life, always be kind and always, no matter where you go in
030life and where it takes you, always speak up and always advocate for yourself and for others. And thank you for making Middle Country proud. And I have to give a thank to Ms. Pacifico and Dr. Siegel. They heard this vision, and they really ran with it, and they've done amazing things, not only getting students, but getting staff and teachers and chaperones, and they're on that bus at 4 a.m., so I have to thank them as well. So if there are any chaperones in the audience of that day, if you'd like to come up here, and we have certificates for you as well. And again, we just want to thank our chaperones on that day. Again, you're getting up at 4 a.m. and you're taking that bus ride as well, and it's a long day there,
031a lot of walking, as you all know. So we do thank you for doing that and be a part of it so that the students are able to attend that day. And also, if you prepare them or help them get chosen to take that trip, we appreciate that as well and thank you as well. We had Dr. Cook, who's not here this evening. Ms. Kohler, MCTA co-president. Ms. Pacifico, Director of World Studies, PK through 12. Ms. Reznikoff, Co-President of the MCTA. Ms. Scott, Selden Middle School, Family and Consumer Science teacher. Dr. Siegel, Director of ELA and Grant Funded Opportunities, Pre-K through 12. Ms. McDonald, Social Studies teacher from Newfield High School. And Ms. Iodanza, Social Studies teacher from Newfield High School. Please pardon me, we were remiss. We inadvertently left off one very important name,
032Autumn Youngling also joined us as well. Please come up to get your certificate. Did Lucas get his? And we forgot Lucas Wolpe. I'm sorry. Thomas Lucas was there with us. We took attendance like 17 times, so we definitely were remiss. I'm going to call up Emily too. Thank you. Of course. And I know that it was touched on, but we do just want to thank Assemblyman Smith and Assemblywoman Kassay. They have been phenomenal with our students. And I think it's also important to note out, because I think they showed these students a really, really important lesson, is that they both represent. opposite sides of the aisle and they've come together on numerous occasions to help teach our students and educate our students and to advocate for our students and with our students so we are
033extremely grateful and we also have a certificate for them as well unfortunately Mr. Smith and Ms. Gasset were not able to be here this evening but I do have Emily Murphy, who is just as phenomenal and just as helpful. She's the chief of staff for Miss Kese, so she will be accepting the award. And again, send our thanks and appreciation. So you want a picture now? Okay, and now for our PTA-PTSA report. We have two reports this evening. If you'd both like to come up to the podium and then you can choose the order you wish to speak in. Ms. Landy, PTSA President of Century High School, and Ms. Jen Gary, PTSA Recording Secretary for Newfield High School. Good evening. My name is Stacy Landy. I'm the president of Center Reach PTSA. Just wanted to
034give you guys a little idea of what we've been doing this year. We started off our fundraising at all the home football games with raffles and 50-50s. We had a successful increase in our number of not only staff members, but also parent and student members. Our 134 members of our PTA, that's... one of the highest we've had in the last couple of years. So everyone's been great in that way. We've helped us win a couple of awards for our membership participation. Our big event this year was on March 5th. We had our fashion show. We raised enough money for four scholarships that would be going to graduating seniors of Sunridge. at the award ceremony in May. That's about it. Currently we're planning our teacher appreciation breakfast and then we'll be voting on our new board
035at our May meeting. Everyone's been great, the staff and teachers and everyone has been wonderful to us. So thank you. Hi, I'm Jen Gary from Newfield. We want to take this opportunity to let you guys know that our membership is still ongoing. We are continuing to educate our families about the PTA and the importance of the mission. Our PTSA added a new fundraiser this year, which was our psychic fundraiser in November. That was a very big success. We're going to hold it again next year, possibly in a bigger venue. We also had our fashion show last month, which was very successful. We had students, staff, and we've added kindergartners from both Unity and Bicycle Path, which is so adorable. We also are presenting for senior scholarships. And coming up, our next and last big event
036on June 1st is our Special Persons Night, where seniors can recognize a special staff member who have helped them. along the way. It could be a staff member, even a security guard, a secretary, teacher, anybody in the building that has helped them along the way. And that's about it. We'll be voting on our board as well. And just looking forward to a great end of the year. Thank you. Thank you. And on behalf of the Board of Education, we thank all of our PTA volunteers and all that they bring to our students and staff and all the extra love that they show upon them. So thank you. We're going to have a brief intermission now, so if you need to leave or want to leave, this would be the time to do so. We thank
037you for attending tonight, and we congratulate all of our award recipients. Thank you so much for giving us the opportunity to have a brief intermission. Now for the first of our two special presentations for physical education, health, athletics, and facilities budget presentation, if I could please have Mr. Mercado to the podium. Good evening. This evening I'm going to present the physical education, health, athletics, and facilities budget for the 2026-2027 school year. And I'd like to begin with physical education. So our physical education is state mandated for grades K through 12. At our elementary schools, all of our students receive physical education twice a week. At our high school, they receive physical education every other day on an AB schedule. The main focus of physical education is, of course, lifelong fitness. How do you maintain your
038health? after you leave high school and you don't have a teacher there forcing you to play games every single class. Social interactions is a huge focus that we constantly increase how much socialization that students have, especially today. Students are socializing less and less, and we encourage that, obviously, through our physical education classes. Physical education for athletes is something that we started this year and we are going to be increasing the emphasis on it for the 26-27 school year. We thank... Thank you to our assistant superintendent of curriculum and our two principals at the two high schools coming up with small things to help with that class. For example, they're changing the lettering in the course book. So now it reads within letter A at the end of the course number. So that way student athletes
039know to register for the course being promoted through our coaching staff at. every one of their practices as their seasons begin and we're promoting it obviously at our meet the coaches night so that parents are aware of the extra time for our athletes and we're going to incorporate that into our physical education course. We currently have 31 staff members teaching physical education. for their budget for the 26-27 school year. You're going to see pluses and minuses throughout our budget codes. That's mainly the moving of money. Our overall budget is pretty much the same for physical education. It just moves in terms of what they need for equipment or for supplies. And those are some of the things that you can see in the codes in front of you. For health education, obviously it is a
040graduation requirement. It's offered for grades in grades 6 and 10. Health 2 is also offered at the high school level for our students. We cover mental health, mental health disease awareness, drug and alcohol prevention, steroid prevention, human anatomy, chemical makeup, nutrition, suicide prevention, and sex education and STD prevention. We are going to be at six staff members for the 26-27 school year, which is up 0.3 from last year. Our health budget codes, our budget for health is very minimal as most of our materials are online, but they do purchase some supplies, and you can see that some things have moved in that area as well. And those are shared with physical education, so we kind of pair them together throughout the school year. For facilities, we have 71 custodials. We have 10 grounds, 10 maintenance,
041an assistant director, and the foreman, which is included in the maintenance number. We support approximately 2,500, 9,500 staff and 1,600. I just said that backwards didn't I? 9,500 students and 1,600 staff, excuse me, throughout the district. We maintain and repair all of our facilities across 15 sites. We complete many projects at as cost-effectively as we can by doing them in-house before we send them out to a vendor. The main responsibility, obviously, of buildings and grounds is for a clean and healthy environment before, during, and after school for our students and staff. Some of our most recent upgrades for buildings and grounds, we continue to increase the use of technology for the department, mainly the school-due note system. What the School Do Notes system is allowing us to do is maintain a very accurate detailed account
042of work orders that have been sent to outside vendors. So it allows us to track the progress of outside vendors. Very often when we can't do something in-house or our project is too big, we become reliant on outside vendors. And it's very easy to call an outside vendor, they say they're coming, and then it kind of gets forgotten about. The note system, what it allows us to do is to stay in constant contact with that outside vendor and read back to them what they told us on specific dates and in terms of holding them accountable and ensuring that our vendors are fulfilling their responsibility to the district. ASOP for custodial subs, a very special thank you to the Human Resource Department with this. This was a huge transition for the custodial department and specifically Ms.
043Lori Mooney over in HR was a tremendous help in onboarding all of our sub-custodians, getting our current custodians into the system so that way when custodians call out sick or take time off that they're allotted. The ASOP system, which is used for our substitute teachers, is now utilized for our custodial staff. And it's getting better every single day, and they're really getting the hang of it. And we're ensuring that our buildings are properly staffed. Obviously, we're working a lot with capital projects. Our main capital project is the Center Reach boiler and chiller right here in this building. Very happy to announce that currently right now, instead of four total boilers in this building, there are three. Why? Because one has been completely removed and is gone out of this building. We are completely obviously redoing
044that and it is on schedule as of today. We prepare for district-wide capital improvements throughout the district, whether it be concrete, blacktop, different things that each building needs in order to maintain its proper functionality. We also maximize BOCES support with a once-a-month visit from BOCES to ensure that the district stays in compliance. And then the maximization of our own work. So within our maintenance department, even those 10 guys, they're broken up into smaller groups. Corporate tree, plumbing, and electrical. So we have a kind of a lead maintenance guy at each one of those levels, and they'll go out every day with a small crew of one or two themselves, and that ensures that work is done properly and as efficiently as possible. So one of the capital projects that was just done was over at
045Eugene Hour. It was done over spring break. We ripped up part of, we ripped up some concrete, added a new walkway for our students. The new walkways for our walking students throughout the district has been a big plus. We did one at North Coleman. We did one over at Eugene Hour. That's the walkway that you see there. We also decreased the size of one of the main islands that was in the middle of Eugene hour to allow for better traffic flow. And the first day back to school, we got this email. Mr. Bernardino got this email from a parent stating how much better it was and loving the fact that we are improving our buildings. So we talked about the work, the breakdown of by trade. So the work orders, when they're submitted, they automatically
046are tagged when whoever is submitting the work order. So when a head custodian or a chief custodian submits a work order that goes for electrical work, it goes right directly to our electrician. If they submit a work order for carpentry or for plumbing, it goes directly to those lead maintenance guys. to allow for a faster response time by those maintenance people we're very proud of the in-house projects that we do especially such as our sensory room over our sensory hallway over at north coleman our phase one of our district-wide fans has has been completed and we'll are we will be continuing to work on that throughout the summer and going forward increasing the sensory rooms throughout the district and as special education increases the installation of bathrooms in the classrooms that are needed and we're
047able to do those at a fraction of the cost than having an outside vendor come in so we're very proud of those. We also do some special projects. Obviously, last summer we did the painting over at Selden Middle School. We continued a little bit more work over at Selden with their new stair treads because their stair treads were very worn. We instituted the school colors in the stairways. And then Mr. Miranda had the building custodians paint the hallways of the stairwells with red and black as well. And everybody just absolutely loves them. We're in preparation for Newfield High School. We're going to be painting the outside of that high school. There is our rough draft. We're going to be starting over on the east end of the high school and working our way west across
048the front. And that is actually going to be starting before the summer. We're actually a little bit ahead of schedule, so we're going to be moving ahead. And for those that are on the blue side, don't worry. We do have plans for the blue side as well. So obviously the facility budget codes, which drives everything. Some of the things that are included in this year's budget, mainly equipment. So we're ordering two new vehicles, another grounds truck and a maintenance van. That is to maintain the health of our large fleet. Boiler maintenance is always a big thing. in school buildings obviously when you have 14 buildings obviously ensuring that there's heat hot water in the buildings so we obviously need a large budget for that seating of all of our natural fields air tests to ensure
049that the air that the students and the staff breathe is constantly safe for them The supplies for your custodians, district record maintenance, obviously the in-house projects that we do perform, the materials for that. Snow removal comes at a cost. We always pray for snow removal Monday through Friday. Air duct maintenance, asbestos removal, security, and fire alarms. Okay, these are the special projects that are anticipated for the 26-27. This is just some of the highlights. The painting of Newfield High School, as I showed you the picture of. Center Reach High School is incorporated as per Mr. Bell's request. He requested a military hall of fame. The overhang at North Coleman obviously needs some TLC. Bicycle Path is looking at a sensory room, and Oxhead is looking for an outdoor classroom. I went around along with my
050assistant director to all 14 buildings. We scheduled a one hour meeting with every building principal. We walked through, we went through what capital projects are needed at their buildings, what special projects they would like to see in their buildings. So that way, and then we prioritize them. Might be mr. Werner. Dr. Rella We go through every single one of those projects and we prioritize them district-wide and start planning on how we're going to allot those funds for those projects These are our codes for next year. Most of them are, they're just driven by cost. You're going to see some large increases, some also decreases. Again, that is based on my philosophy just in terms of where money goes in terms of codes throughout the year. So like I said, some codes you can see have
051been completely removed in order to support other codes in terms of how we pay for things. Okay, so overall there's a 2% increase in facilities and again that's mainly driven just due to the cost of vendors going up and the price of materials going up every single year. Next we move to athletics. We offer a wide variety of sports over at the high school level and the middle school level. Listed here are all of the sports that are offered. Our combined sports are in parentheses with an MC. If it doesn't have an MC, that means we offer an individual sport at each high school. At the middle school, same thing. We do have a couple of combined sports, but in total, we remain at 109 total teams available for our student athletes. So that way
052we can offer a wide variety of athletics for every type of student. Couple of new additions many of you have seen them in both high schools we have five TVs between both high schools to highlight student athletes and the Middle Country Hall of Fame for each high school the Hall of Fame will be up by the start of the 26-27 school year Currently all the TVs each season they are rolling through pictures of every single athlete while they're in season So they get to see themselves on TV We also get to post announcements for athletics through them and they're all located in the athletic areas of both high schools. We pride ourselves on student-athlete academic performance. As we always say, good students make good athletes. Over 75% of our teams are still qualifying as New
053York State Scholar-Athlete teams. Center Reach and Newfield High School annually, for five years in a row, have been recognized by the New York State Public High School Athletic Association as a school of excellence. Minds in Motion, which is any student athlete that maintains a 90 GPA or better throughout their athletic season, is awarded a Minds in Motion medal. And last year and this year, Center Reach High School remains at 52%. Newfield High School increased by 1%, going up to 47%. District-wide, we're right around the 50% number, and that has been holding steady. Another core to our athletic program is working with our youth programs and many of our teams work with our youth programs in many different ways whether it be through clinics, invitations to practice, going to practices, meeting with their coaches, things like
054that in order to help them understand proper techniques to be taught down at the lower levels. On the field, middle country remains extremely competitive. This list is kind of a running 10-year highlight. We have some new additions for this year. First, Center Ridge Field Hockey, which Ms. Brianna Brennan, who was here earlier, was a part of, made it to the semifinals along with our volleyball team. making it to the semifinals. We had a Newfield wrestler qualifying for the New York State Championship and a male track athlete qualifying for the state championship this year as well. As we focus on the entire student athlete, we also partnered with Limitless. This partnership assists students with leadership skills to prepare them for their future. I apologize. I don't know why that picture covered that up. I apologize. But
055that's their logo. And we've been piloting it over at Newfield High School. The program is run by two Newfield alum. which is Elijah Riley and Denzel Williams, former NFL players, and they're giving back. And middle country is definitely going to be the beneficiary of this program. Some pictures of our student athletes. First and foremost, I'd love to highlight flag football, which was brand new this year. Very exciting. They won again tonight. That gives them three wins on the season, three and five. So they're doing very well in their inaugural season. We just had, adding this in, we just had an athlete today. Yep, you saw that on Instagram. We just had an athlete today commit to LIU. She is right away the... first middle country flag football player to receive an athletic academic scholarship for
056$20,000 a year to go to that school. And that's Ava Farrar from Centauri. So we're very proud of her. Here's a picture of our new field athlete at the state competition for wrestling. We continue with our Take a lot of videos with our kids to get to know our kids a lot better and highlight their achievements in the classroom and on the athletic fields and that's always been a great time. Our facilities, which are still among the best in Section 11, Middle Country here continues to host events to show everyone how great our facilities are and work in a great partnership with Section 11. And we continue to host events, basketball, we hosted fencing this year, and volleyball county championships this year, which were highly successful. And it's always great to see members of other
057communities come into our community and say, Wow, I didn't realize that Middle Country did such a great, has such great facilities and can do such a great job. The budget codes for this year, I always do like to highlight and I put it on the side. We have 101 total coaches and 68 are district employees, which is a staggering number. When I just left an executive board meeting for Section 11 last night and a school district said to me, I can't believe that I just fell below 50% of employees coaching in our district. So for us to be in the high 60s and almost 70% to me is a testament to our staff and our dedication from our staff members to work with our student athletes. And I'm very proud of that retention for them.
058Again, with athletics, there are many increases and decreases, mainly moving dollars around. Obviously, there is a tremendous increase in one of those budget codes there, and that is the miscellaneous code, and that is just because we are simply moving a stipend position over to our contract for our athletic trainers through Northwell Health, and that's where that money is being placed. Student-athlete participation remains strong. At the high school, we have 1,460 students across three seasons. Last year was 1,447, and at the middle school, we're at 607, and last year was 605. I see that as a tremendous increase, even though the numbers look the same, because with declining enrollment, our numbers are staying strong and moving up, and I see that in the roster sizes as they're growing across each team. And finally, we end with
059our mission statement. In discussions, I was trying to highlight. the bullet that best fits for physical education, health, athletics, facilities, and athletics. And I realize that really every single, actually I shouldn't say that because I'm going to take credit and I'll get in trouble for that. Dr. Gerald recognized that every single bullet really does pertain to physical education, health, and athletics. So I'm very proud that our department is able to continue to maintain and support our district mission statement. Any questions? So all of our facilities do have sprinkler systems. They may not cover 100% of the facility. That is one of the things that I like to look at in the future in order to increase our coverage of that. And another thing is with the great success of the flag football program so far,
060I mean, this is our inaugural season with three wins. That's amazing. Are we looking to expand that for the upcoming school year? We're going to continue to monitor the numbers of the athlete participation because we've always been driven in terms of our athletics, in terms of participation. So for example, before we consolidated softball, we watched those numbers for a couple of years to ensure that the level of interest was decreasing. This year in the inaugural season, we do have a very high participation rate of 40 students currently right now on the roster. We started with 50, we're down to about 40, and those 10 did drop very quickly. and those 40 have been staying strong. So that's something we'll look at next year, and if those numbers stay there, we will obviously look to possibly,
061I'll be requesting, you know, possibly an additional team at JV level. Thank you. Anyone else? Mr. Hallett? Yeah, just one little question. I don't even know if, it's probably a line item change. For the BOCES services, it's from 8,000 to 96,000. What's the... Dr. Ella, wasn't that because it was a typo in one year, I believe? That was the BOCES services. Slide 21. Yep. the current the 2627 budget is budgeted appropriate to what the expense is so the prior year's budget number was off so um through both season facilities we end up doing all of jc broderick all the air quality testing the asbestos testing anything that anything through that vendor as well as abatement goes through the boses so that is a appropriately budgeted amount there anyone else miss feldman Oh, Ms. Barisi and
062then Ms. Feldman. Yes, ma'am. Ms. Feldman. I just wanted to say, with the sensory room at Bicycle Path and the outdoor classroom, I think you said Oxhead? Yes. Have you reached out to the Education Foundation to get some funds? Not yet, but you can guarantee that the Educational Foundation will be getting a phone call. Okay, good, good. Any other board members have questions or comments? Thank you. Thank you. I'm now going to present to you the Middle Country Central School District 26-27 proposed budget. Back in the school year of 2014-15, a pre-K student by the name of John Cusimano, who is now a 10th grader in Newfield High School, introduced our budget, and we've been using his voice ever since. I imagine his mom probably enjoys that because now I'm sure his voice is a
063lot deeper. I'm going to now ask everyone to please rise for the Pledge of Allegiance as recited by the Selden Middle School Beetlejuice cast, and please remain standing for the Star-Spangled Banner as performed by Kelsey Curran, eighth grade student from Dawnwood Middle School. What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming? Whose broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight, Such a beautiful voice. Our district is guided by our mission statement, which was crafted during the 99-2000 school year, more than 25 years ago, and still remains strong. Everything we do here in Middle Country is rooted in our mission statement, including our budget work. Each year, we try to find a new and creative way to have it read to you, showcasing our students. This year, it's the Center Reach High School leads
064from the musical production of Les Mis. The mission of the Middle Country Central School District is to empower and inspire all students to apply the knowledge, skill, and attitudes necessary to be creative problem solvers, to achieve personal success, and to contribute responsibly in a diverse and dynamic world. Some of our budget planning objectives even with budget challenges such as rising special education and health care costs along with a minimal state aid increase we kept our focus on ensuring that comprehensive opportunities stay in place including a full day universal pre-k program a wide array of courses BOCES OCCED programs athletics music art after-school clubs and a new important partnership with Northwell mental health And we did all this while staying within the allowable tax levy cap. Some of our 26, 27 budget drivers and challenges, I
065won't go through and read all of them. I do suggest you can go online and you can view this at your leisure and you can see every slide and read every bulletin point. I will highlight just a few contractual obligations, healthcare costs, additional special education praise classes, BOCES, OCED, utilities. And technology. Some of these challenges we are able to anticipate, but others we can't, such as families moving into middle country to take advantage of our PRAISE program. The increases in healthcare and special education are two of our biggest cost drivers. Grant opportunities for technology that supported the one-to-one Chromebook initiative have phased out, so now the initiative is supported through the general fund. Similar to many of you, we have experienced very high increases in utility and insurance as well. This chart here shows our
066NYSHIP health insurance rate in a 10-year history. Healthcare costs for our current employees and retirees continue to be one of the largest cost drivers in our budget. You can see over the last five years, the cost of these benefits have grown by 50%. That is a much larger increase than the five years prior to that. For this coming year, healthcare for actives and retirees are budgeted at $52.7 million. This chart here as well shows our special education costs in a 10-year history. In addition to special education costs also continuing to be another large cost driver, we are currently anticipating adding five new praise classes, as well as we are seeing a rise in other costs associated with special education, including BOCES and related services. In the last five years, we have seen our special education
067costs grow by 30%, which is much higher than what we had seen in the past. For this coming year, special education is budgeted at $52.5 million. Healthcare and special education represent one-third of the entire $315 million proposed budget. Our fiscal stress designation for 24-25, as you can see, Middle Country, their score was 15 points, which puts us in the no designation category. On February 11th of 26, Dr. Rella made a budget presentation, which included an update on the comptroller's fiscal stress monitoring system and Middle Country's score of no designation. While there continues to be improvement made from prior years, the district needs to continue to be committed to improving its financial stability. For more detail about Middle Country's fiscal stress designation or any of our previous budget presentations, please visit the Board of Education page
068on our website. This here is the use of our reserves and our fund balance I do want to point out that in the last few years the district has utilized the reserves to maintain our Instructional programs the district reserve balances have decreased 46% since 2018 Excuse me. While the district has had to utilize reserves in the past few years, Middle Country is beginning to regain its financial health. Some of our neighboring districts have recently been highlighted in the news as they are experiencing severe program and staffing cuts due to relying too heavily on reserves or not having reserves. This is why Middle Country is committed to controlling our costs and having adequate reserve balances. It's a slow process, but it's necessary to have financial strength so we can provide stability to our students, staff, and
069residents. Now here is the 26-27 proposed three-part budget of $315 million. Almost 80% is spent directly on programs for our more than 9,500 students pre-K through grade 12, as you can see in the budget component description. I will just point out capital is 14% administrative 7.5 and then the programming of 77. Middle countries, per-pupil expenditure, which is $25,000, is lower than the Suffolk County average of $28,000 and the New York State average of $26,000. Even though our per-pupil expenditure is lower, we provide full, comprehensive programs. It also means that we are efficient or tight with our budgets, so we don't have a lot of extras that can be cut without cutting programs. Our 26-27 proposed revenue. Budget expenditures are supported by revenues. The two primary sources of revenue are property tax and state aid. Middle
070Country is a state aid dependent district, which means any underfunding in state aid requires either program reductions or an increase in taxes or overuse of reserves if they are still available. This year, based on the governor's proposal, we are slated to receive a minimal increase of state aid, far below our expenditure growth. For example, rising special education and health care costs. Through careful, short, and long-term fiscal planning, we are still able to maintain all programs and opportunities for our students our top priority. This year is our tax levy increase in the last 10 years. I will point out that the average has been 2.05. Middle Country has always been very careful to stay at or below our allowable tax levy. Remember, 2% isn't a true 2%, as the chart shows. We even had one year
071where our allowable tax levy was a negative. When costs exceed the allowable tax levy, we have to cut programs or make up any difference by using reserves. As seen in local news, when you don't have reserves, the only remaining option is cutting staff, which means reducing programs. Middle Country tax levy for the 26-27 school year is 2.33%. This is lower than both the county tax levy average of 2.6 and the Long Island average of 2.5. For the average homeowner, this means an increase of $13 per month. I do want to point out that this is based on an average assessed property of $2,500 that we received directly, that data from Town of Brookhaven. If you would like to know specifically what the proposed budget means for you, please go onto our website and enter your
072assessed value onto the calculator, which is part of the budget and board election information that's listed under important information on the homepage. And this here is an example of a more recent tax bill, so you can see where you can get your assessed value from. Our 26-27 proposed budget, our current 25-26 school year budget is $304 million. Our proposed 26-27 school year budget is $315 million. It's an expenditure increase of 3.52%. An estimated tax levy cap of 2.33%. We will have an estimated tax levy increase of 2.33%. And that is an estimated annual increase to homeowners of $154, again based on that $2,500 assessed value from the town of Brookhaven. We never like to talk about a contingent budget, but it is important. The difference between a past budget and a contingent budget is $3.8
073million. Non-mandated areas would be reduced or eliminated like extracurricular activities such as athletics, musical productions, and late buses, including late buses to non-public schools. Because middle country's budget is so tight with a 3.8 million dollar gap, all of these programs are at risk. As I had said earlier, if you'd like to see this budget presentation this evening or any of our previous budget presentations, you can go on to the website and click the link and you can see every budget presentation, including the one tonight that Mr. Mercado presented. And then I'd also like to point out our upcoming budget presentations that are public. Right, I guess you call it a public hearing? Public hearing, couldn't think of that word. We have 429 at Newfield High School in the library at 7 p.m., 5-6 Center Reach
074High School Auditorium at 6.30, and 5-13 at the District Conference Center at Center Reach High School at 7 p.m. We have a lot to be proud of in middle country, as you can read in the last two years of the bulletin board. This year, you have received some of the issues at home. All of the issues are online. You'll see the QR code on this slide. That links you directly to all the online issues. Many of the online issues, by the way, include much more than what's in the hard copies. I would also suggest you go on at your leisure and look through them. They really highlight different areas and give a lot of information and tell our story. What our operating budget accomplishes, again, I won't go through and read everything. Established full-day universal
075pre-K in the 2014-15 school year, building on a 2006 implementation of half-day universal pre-K. I think it's amazing that this program has 10,000 students have benefited from it. Unified basketball established in 2018. Two students selected as Long Island Scholar, Artists, and Music. We had 442 students in the class of 2025 earn the New York seal of civic readiness. We had our lobbying trip as you all saw today and our very important Northwell mental health partnership provides crisis response and ongoing referrals. Some more. of our continuing success of what our budgets give back to our students and community. Center Reach Girls Basketball makes the playoffs the last four consecutive seasons. We had the very first season of flag football and as Mr. Mercado said, a very first student going to college on a scholarship, which is
076amazing. Students from Newfield High School and Center Reach High School compete at science competitions. Our robotics teams at both high schools consistently compete at state and world levels. And our third graduating class to complete a capstone project at all three levels, elementary, middle, and high school. Here we showcase what supported budgets have brought our students and our communities. There is much to be proud of in middle country. This slide highlights just a few community service activities our students engage in, like our Firehouse 9-11 memorials, our senior citizens teas and dinners, our veteran home performances, and food and clothing banks, to name a few. I love this slide and I think it's so important for it to be part of our budget presentation. It's highlighting the accomplishments of our students as well as the teacher and
077support staff that help prepare them to compete for scholarships and other opportunities after graduation. The class of 2025 earned in scholarships $3.1 million. The scholarship average for classes 2018 through 2025 was an impressive $3.5 million. This here goes to the previous slide. This is a list of graduates who have gained admission to and are attending over 265 different colleges and universities. Again, I won't name them all, but we have Adelphi, Notre Dame, we have pretty much all the SUNYs, we have University of Arizona, we have University of Michigan. And we'd also like to acknowledge, congratulate the students who go directly into the workforce right from high school, whether it be the trades or just joining the workforce. And we would also like to congratulate our students who go directly into the military when graduating high
078school and thank them for their service to protect our country. If anybody knows me, if I've said it once, I've said it a hundred times, that voting is an important civic responsibility. God bless you. Four years ago we started a civic engagement initiative in our elementary schools as those of you with younger children might remember. It was so successful and fun that it will be continued this year. Students will vote in their schools on one resolution. Each student will receive an I voted sticker that was designed by Jose Gomez Jr. from Newfield High School, a student that was acknowledged here this evening. Adult voters will also be offered a sticker. Children are also welcome to vote on a second resolution at either Center Reach High School or Newfield High School when their adult family members
079come to vote so that they get to see and feel what it's like to be a part of the election process. And I will just point out too that during our Humanities Expo, we have it narrowed down the finalists and the stickers and the children as well vote for their choice of which sticker should win. This slide shows our students district-wide celebrating our veterans. Our military protects our rights, most importantly our right to vote, so let's thank them by remembering to vote on May 19th. Scan on the QR code or visit our website for voter registration and absentee voter information. Our student voices say it all. My voice matters. My voice matters. So I will vote. So I will vote. So I will vote. So I will vote. Your voice matters too. Will you vote?
080So again, we'll ask you to please remember to vote in the Middle Country Central School District budget vote and election on Tuesday, May 19, 2026 from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. Polling sites are located at Center H High School in the rear gym by zip code. Newfield High School in the rear gym by zip code. We have a QR code here. We also have a link. Should you not know where exactly your zip code goes, you can get the information on our website. And if all else fails, you can always reach out to our wonderful district clerk, Ms. Larkin. Any questions or comments from the board? Okay, thank you. President Schrock I have a question I don't know if this is a Dr. Rolla question but is there a Suffolk County average for for the
081annual reserves that districts have for Suffolk County and can we compare that to that average thank you anyone else okay thank you board commentary Mr. Halleck Mr. DiBenedetto Ms. Mann Rodriguez Ms. Haggerty Ms. Barisi competition in Subic Community College in Brentwood. It was really amazing, from all high schools, and competing, it was an enjoyable day. I also today had the meeting with the chamber, and I wanted to thank Liz Scott. She did a great job with the presentation of our CTE program, Portrait of a Graduate, and thanked the chamber for their support. I also visited three of the classrooms, four classrooms this week, which was very interesting. the fashion design the carpentry and fashion fashion design I think was yes I agree that we had a couple of board members there and I think we
082all left there truly inspired and it was really a great visit the staff couldn't have been nicer the teachers we had some real genuine collaborative conversations it really truly was a great day so I agree miss Parisi Ms. Talamo? I wanted to call the students. I went yesterday to the National. Sorry, I could not hear you, Ms. Talamo, so I apologize. Did you finish? Yes. Okay. Ms. Feldman? Yes. Mr. Feeney. I had the opportunity last night to attend the Spotlight on Long Island schools at Newfield. It's a radio program, and they highlighted several of our programs, some of the students you saw tonight. The first one really was the middle school and the high school students for the National History Day. They did an amazing job explaining their research, how they did their research. They
083answered everything the host asked them, and they were very proud of them. The second group was the AP Capstone and Research Seminar Kids. who also did an amazing job explaining the research, but also the lessons and the skills that they learned from that experience and how that will help them move forward in college. Very good. The next group was, these are now going to be the third show, basically two cosmetology students from Center Reach who explained what their program was and really, more importantly, how hard they were working to pass the state test because it was very rigorous coming up next week. And then the last group was the cast and crew of... Les Miserables from Centauri. I had the opportunity to also see that show. They did an amazing job in that production. I
084also want to thank the teachers and the authors who attended the Humanities Expo. It was great. Another successful evening. Very well done to thank Amy and Kiri for their work with that. Thank you, Mr. Feeney. We have our minutes of our regular meeting from March 25th. If there are no edits or comments, we'll accept them as they are. I need a motion to accept the consent agenda. Did you hear that, Steph? Bob and Denise. Instruction, there are no action items this evening. Pupil personnel services, personnel instructional, personnel classified, finance. All those in favor? If you could just raise your hands high. Opposed? Motion carries. Superintendents report. We have 2604-SR, Eastern BOCES Administrative Budget, 2026-2027 school year. All those in favor? Opposed? Motion carries. 26-04-SR-2, Eastern Suffolk BOCES Annual Election. All those in favor? Opposed? I'm
085sorry, who was the second? John. Thank you. All those opposed? Or anyone opposed? motion carries 26-04-sr-3 scope before and after school and summer childcare program for the 26-27 school year all those in favor opposed motion carries okay 26-04-sr-4 scope summer enrichment program contract for the 20 20 26 summer all those in favor Opposed motion carries 26-04-sr-5 section RPT l 471 real property tax exemption for surviving spouses of police officers killed in the line of duty including cooperative apartments All those in favor opposed motion carries 26-04-sr-6 section RPT l 466-a real property tax exemption for surviving spouses of members of incorporated volunteer fire company fire departments and incorporated voluntary ambulance service killed in the line of duty and on the motion if I could just say thank you to Lisa Tizzolo she had reached out to
086us and lobbied us to pass these two these two resolutions tonight. Her husband was a sergeant for the NYPD. He was killed in the line of duty. And hopefully, you know, these are things that we'll have passed and families in our community won't have to use them or need them, but it's good to see that she's out there reaching out and trying to get these things passed. Thank you. All those in favor? Opposed? Motion carries. 26-03-SR-7, Education Law 913, Examination, Rescission. All those in favor? Opposed? Motion carries. 26-03-SR-8, Education Law 913, Examination. All those in favor? Opposed? That's a roll call. No, no, this is the 913 examination. Oh, I'm sorry. You're an 8? Yeah. Okay. I'm excited. You want to get home? Motion carries. And here we go, Steph. 26-04-SR-9 property tax report card
087for the 2026-2027 school year and a roll call vote is required. I need a motion and a second, please. I will call your names in alphabetical order with the vice president and the president being last. Please respond by saying yes, no, or abstain after your name has been called. Ms. Parisi? Mr. D. Benedetto. Yes. Ms. Feldman. Yes. Ms. Haggerty. Yes. Mr. Halleck. Yes. Ms. Mann-Rodriguez. Yes. Ms. Talamo. Yes. Mr. Feeney. Yes. Ms. Chirock. Yes. At this time, would anyone like to change their vote? Being no trustee has changed his or her vote. The motion is carried. And you announce the 9-0. Thank you. and 26-04-sr-10 2026 2027 school year budget adoption and a roll call vote is required second I'm sorry who was the second thank you here we go again Mrs. Barisi Mr. DiBenedetto
088yes Ms. Feldman yes Ms. Haggerty yes Mr. Halleck yes Ms. Mann-Rodriguez yes Ms. Talamo Mr. Feeney. Yes. Ms. Chirac. Yes. Would anyone like to change their vote? Being no trustee has changed his or her vote. The motion is carried unanimously 9-0. Thank you. Thank you. Policy 26-04-PO1. First reading of the following district policies. 83 31 district owned cell phones 84 10 student transportation and 8505 meal charge and prohibit hope Prohibitation against meal shaming all those in favor opposed motion carries weekly Correspondence, please just be checking your emails. This is our busy season So please between the nine of us we should be able to have a good representation to support our students and staff if anything changes you can let myself or stephanie know so that we can let the appropriate building know if there's
089any change in our attendance unfinished business new business board of education committee reports oh okay liaison mr d menedetto On March 26th, the Athletic Advisory Committee met to discuss enhancements to promote athletic programs through the use of social media. The committee explored creating Meet the Teacher features, as well as introducing Student Athlete of the Month posts following recognition at Board of Education meetings. The committee also discussed updates of the new partnership with the Limitless Foundation led by former NFL player and Newfield alum, Eli Riley. In addition to collaboration with the local youth football organization, the Wildcats, the Limitless Foundation is developing a leadership program for high school athletes. This initiative focuses on building character and leadership skills that will benefit the students on and off the field or court. Finally, the committee reviewed nominations of
090the Middle Country Hall of Fame. and selected three former student athletes for induction. These individuals will be notified and invited to an upcoming award banquet. They will be where they'll be honored. The photographs and biographies will be also featured on the school's digital displays. Thank you. Any other liaison reports? Follow-up board discussion? Our public input response from our last meeting. At our last meeting, a community resident whose mother had been a school board trustee several decades ago spoke in support of a teacher's contract that is fair to both the MCTA and to the community. We couldn't agree more. In fact, contracts that are fair to our employees and can be sustained by our community have been the focus of all negotiations with all unions. For example, every employee other than our teachers, when retired, agreed
091to contribute to family medical, showing their willingness to help control costs so that the benefits can be continued. We are hopeful that the impasse process, which began yesterday, will bring about meaningful conversations, resulting in a settlement that is respectful to our teachers and to our community. Public input this evening, Ms. Larkin? Thank you. We have one speaker this evening. Before I call the speaker up, I just want to remind the speaker that they have three minutes to speak. I will keep the clock. The Board of Education meeting is a meeting in public and not a public hearing. Therefore, the board does not respond to public input. The board will not permit public input involving students, individual staff members, et cetera. Anyone that wishes to speak or discuss such matters should contact the superintendent during regular
092business hours. Everyone should be, speakers should be conducting themselves in a civil manner. Obviously, no obscene language, et cetera, will be permitted. And the president does have the right to discontinue any presentation that violates policy 1230. So the first speaker is, or the only speaker, I should say, is Nicholas Rayner. Good evening members of the board and superintendent Dr. Gerald. I'm Nicholas Raynor, a student from Newfield High School. I'm here tonight to express my gratitude for our teachers and staff members at Newfield High School and the teachers within our district. I'm here speaking on behalf of myself and the teachers within this room and watching online. To start off, I'd like to address the board regarding our current operational standards. For nearly a school year, our staff has shown up for our students while their
093own employment agreement is overdue. We know that educator working conditions are the direct result and foundation of student learning environments. When we leave our agreements outdated, we aren't just affecting staff, we are affecting the consistency of our students' education. These educators have worked almost 300 days without the security of a renewed agreement. The teachers and support I have received along the way have allowed me to gain the skills, knowledge, and confidence to deliver this speech tonight. While we take pride in our success for every student mission, it is difficult to maintain that momentum when the board's actions signal a lack of urgency. This disparity is even more glaring when we look at the Middle Country's Administrative Association, which successfully secured a stable five-year agreement through to 2030, where it left why the very people in
094the classrooms, the teachers and assistants, who are the very backbone of this school district, are being asked to wait while our peers in administration and neighboring Suffolk County school districts move forward with the professional respective assigned agreement. The delay carries a heavy financial toll for our staff as the primary points we're going to pay and retirement costs during a period of significant inflation. For many, stagnant wages mean that step increases alone cannot close the gap created by rising costs of living, effectively resulting in a pay cut for those waiting on a settlement. We recognize the board is navigating its own fiscal stress, including a $315 million proposition budget for the 2026-27 school year that must strictly adhere to a 2.33% tax levy cap. However, balancing the books cannot come at the expense of those who
095deliver the education. To move beyond this almost 300-day expiration, our district requires a leadership transition that prioritizes collaborative problem-solving over prolonged mediation. We need a board that views a fair contract not as a budget burden, but as an essential foundation for male countries' future stability. Thank you for your time. That's all, right? Okay. Thank you. I need a motion to adjourn. All those in favor? Opposed? Motion carries. Thank you and good evening.